People come and go and go around in my lovely Bretagne, but they always ask me for public transports, not the best in the country…car is still king here; but we do have as in France overall good public transportation to take you to most of Brittany. Heavy subject for me ,but will try to give you as much information as possible in a general guidance. Therefore, here is my take on getting to know my Brittany, or Bretagne, or Breizh …..!!! Hope you enjoy this post as I
My current home department 56 of Morbihan. The word Morbihan means Mor for sea and bihan for small in the breton language so therefore small sea or in French petite mer (coming from the famous gulf of Morbihan) the local costumes is that in the South areas around Vannes (Gwened) Breton is spoken by the elders ,taught in schools ,and all signs on the roads, etc are bilingual. On the extreme north by Loudéac par example ,Gallo, a gallo roman language is also spoken, and the road signs are shown in both gallo and French. Brittany or Bretagne is Breizh! So therefore, where I used to work Vannes is Gwenedand where I live Pluvigner is Pleuwigner, both Breton,
The biggest forests are amongst others the lands of Lanvaux , very near me especially the Domaniales de Camors, and Floranges. The highest point is at the northeast in Gourin, and the mount or Mont Saint-Joseph at 297 meters in the black mountain range or Montagnes Noires. The coastal line including the islands is of 800 km , while the distance at sight between the Laita and Vilaine rivers representing the east and west frontiers of the department is only about 150 km. The Gulf of Morbihan has about 42 isles and two forming towns such as île d’Arz and île aux Moines. Outside the Gulf or in the big sea or Mor Braz in Breton you have four inhabited islands such as south east of the bay of Quiberon : Houat ;Hoëdic ; and Belle-Île-en-Mer (the biggest Breton island with 8 560 hectares) ; and facing Lorient you have the île de Groix. All gorgeous to be visited. The biggest cities are Lorient, Vannes, Auray ,Pontivy,and Hennebont but even with urban areas do not passed 200K inhabitant such as Lorient. Tourism, fishing, canned goods and agro industries are big here.
The Morbihan dept 56 tourist office on its heritage: https://morbihan.com/decouvrir/
The Bretagne region tourist office on the Morbihan: https://www.brittanytourism.com/destinations/departments/morbihan/
However, on family trips we use the car exclusively and the trajects have always been wonderful and plenty of family anecdotes and sights; of course will tell you this first…. We are about 4h45 hours from our home/Vannes area to Paris by roads the N24 N157 A81 A11 A10 and D920 to the Montparnasse area. However, our preferred route is taken the no tolls in 6h on the N24 to Rennes get on the north or rocade nord (N136) direction Caen, to hook up with the A84 still direction Caen but get off at Fougéres on the N12 direction Mayenne/Alençon then Dreux to connect with the A12 and continue direction Paris on the A13 getting to Paris by the Porte d’Autheil or continue on the BP to the porte de Passy or Muette.
The expressway or voie express N165 connects all the major towns from Nantes to Brest, and N24 connects Rennes to Lorient etc. Unlike other road networks in France, it is toll-free roads as per Breton tradition since 1532!!! It is said that Brittany’s free road network is a legacy of Anne de Bretagne who ordered the abolition of tolls between Brittany and France while married to the King of France. In fact, it is as a result of a political decision taken in the 60s to open up the region to the rest of the country.
The expressways or Autoroutes or with the letter A in front of the number :https://www.autoroutes.fr/en/routes.htm
This is the Stationaute on the N165 with exit/sortie and amenities :https://www.stationaute.com/highway/N165
This is the Stationaute on the N24 with exit/sortie and amenities : https://www.stationaute.com/highway/N24
You can see on Stationaute the other highways telling you exits and amenities : https://www.stationaute.com/
The carpooling vogue is big here and plenty of sites offering this service with bays of parking specifically design for the exchange meeting place. They are growing with many more communities a lot better than Paris ! You have a webpage for each department of the lovely region of Bretagne , The popular nationwide is Bla Bla Car webpage : https://www.blablacar.fr/
There are many sites but never use them so rather do not list here, the word in French is covoiturage to search for others, Remember, departments of Brittany are Finistére 29, Côtes d’Armor 22, Morbihan 56, and Ille et Vilaine 35, For my dept Morbihan Vannes is well covered here is a map and location of pickup places : https://www.golfedumorbihan-vannesagglomeration.bzh/covoiturage
The most extensive is the train network as in France, There are great train stations covering most of the land, even TGV lines from Rennes to Brest, Quimper and Saint-Malo, the rail system provides Brittany with a good service. With today’s expected speeds: the TGV takes 1,25 hours from Paris to Rennes and 2,25 hours from Paris-Montparnasse to Vannes even 3,25 to Brest; other TGV lines offer direct connections between Rennes and Lille , Lyon, Strasbourg and Marseille amongst some. The TER (Transport Express Régional, or express regional transport services by train and sometimes bus) successfully serves the main cities in Brittany.
I have used extensively the Auray or Vannes to Paris Montparnasse route on TGV with stops in Redon, Le Mans, Rennes, As well as TER lines Vannes to Nantes, and Rennes.
The official SNCF trains information : https://www.sncf-connect.com/
The official TER Bretagne : https://www.ter.sncf.com/bretagne
In Summers, there is a very popular service from Auray to Quiberon near the beaches call the Tire-Bouchon,(corkscrew) TER Tire Bouchon info : https://www.ter.sncf.com/bretagne/tarifs-cartes/bons-plans/voyages-tire-bouchon
The Bus service is pretty good especially in major cities ,a lot less in the countryside. In my town there is only one bus service line 5 Keolis passing 2-3 hours intervals. If you ever in the area from Vannes, Auray etc this is the line to get to me ! The KeolisAtlantique on line 5 : https://keolis-atlantique.com/fr/6V-Plan-et-horaires-de-la-ligne-5.html
The bus network in Brittany has now been group into BreizhGo site for all transports modes : https://www.breizhgo.bzh/itineraires-et-horaires/trouver-mon-itineraire
There are eight airports in Brittany: Brest , Rennes, Lorient , Quimper, Dinard , Lannion , Morlaix and Saint-Brieuc. There are daily flights to Paris from Brest, Rennes, Lorient, Quimper and Lannion), and connections with national and European cities are available. We do are serve as well by the airport in old Brittany, Nantes Atlantique which I used the most by far ! . Once in Lorient,and twice at Rennes, the rest have been Nantes.
Nantes : https://www.nantes.aeroport.fr/en/homepage
Lorient: https://www.lorient.aeroport.fr/en
Rennes: https://www.rennes.aeroport.fr/en
The ports of Saint-Malo and Roscoff welcome travellers heading to the UK (Portsmouth, Plymouth and Poole) and Ireland (Cork), with the port of Saint-Malo also experiencing busy traffic to and from the Channel Islands. Regular ferry services connect Brittany to its many islands: Île aux Moines, Île d’Arz, Île de Bréhat, Île de Batz, Ushant, Molène, Île de Sein, Belle-Ile, Groix, the Glénan Islands, Houat and Hoëdic.
Brittany has 5 major trading ports: Brest, Lorient, Roscoff, Le Légué and Saint-Malo. The main ones for passenger , me think are St Malo and Roscoff,
Port of St Malo : https://ports.bretagne.bzh/ports/saint-malo/
Port de Roscoff: https://ports.bretagne.bzh/ports/vieux-port/
We have plenty of cycling paths and it is a heaven on earth here, very much in vogue and many editions of the Tour de France passed by Brittany , and we have enjoyed it. Brittany’s network of cycle paths and walking trails is part of the quality of life and is one of the region’s tourist attractions. There is a network of routes approved by the Fédérations Françaises de Cyclisme et de Cyclotourisme. This will allow you to explore the Breton peninsula along the coast, cross east to west along the canal from Nantes to Brest and travel inland from north to south. It is part of the European route that goes from the north (Stockholm) to the south (Lisbon) of Europe via Brittany. The official Federation and renting bikes in France: https://ffvelo.fr/ff-cyclotourisme/nos-partenaires/partenaires-tourisme/
A brief introduction to the department 22 Côtes-d’Armor. The department 22 or Côtes-d’Armor, previously called Côtes-du-Nord until 1990. It means Côtes du pays de la mer or the slopes of the country by the sea. It was created as the other depts of France on the French revolution in 1790. The department 22 of Côtes d’Armor includes part of the old province bishops of Cornouaille and Trégor, and almost all of the Saint Brieuc ,the extreme south given to the Morbihan, and the northwest of Saint Malo as well as a small part of Dol and smaller parts still of the northeast of Vannes. It extends on the counties of Penthiévre , Trégor, and most of Poudouvre and the northern parts of Poher, and Porhoêt. It ,also, take a large part of the old kingdom of Domnonée with the name disappearing in the 11C. It now has four counties those of Saint Brieuc, Dinan,Lannion, and Guingamp. The Côtes d’Armor has 17 harbors for the commerce of fishing , and pleasure with four commercial harbors . The particular Saint-Quay-Portrieux river is the only one in deep water between Brest and Cherbourg. The Côte de Granit Rose has rocks of the color and big sizes such as at Ploumanac’h ; facing it you have the seven islands or Sept ïles making the biggest reserve of ornithologic in France. The Côte Grés has as well sites such as Cap Fréhel and Fort La Latte. Also, the most fartherst point you have the archipielago of Bréhat facing Paimpol with a rare tropical plants reserve in open air. The bay of Saint Brieuc is the second biggest in France after that of Mont Saint Michel. The main towns in department 22 Côtes d’Armor are Saint-Brieuc, Lannion, Plérin, Lamballe, Dinan, Loudéac, Paimpol, Guingamp, Perros-Guirec, Pleumeur Bodou, Moncontour, and Tréguier.
The department 22 Côtes d’Armor tourist office : https://www.cotesdarmor.com/
The Bretagne region tourist office on the Côtes d’Armor: https://www.brittanytourism.com/destinations/departments/cotes-darmor/
I will continue the brief tour with the department 35 of Ille et Vilaine. The department 35 of Ille et Vilaine is divided into counties such as the pays de St Malo, pays de Fougéres, pays de Brocéliande, pays de Rennes, pays de Vitré, pays de Vallons de Vilaine, and pays de Redon. It is known as the upper Brittany area or Haute-Bretagne, and it has about 345 towns. The limits are on the dept 50 Manche,,and dept 53 Mayenne, and dept 49 Maine-et-Loire, dept 44 Loire-Atlantique, dept 56 Morbihan , and dept 22 Côtes-d’Armor, and it is watered by the Manche chanel as well its coasts is known as the côte d’Émeraude (emerald coast…) on the western part by the pointe du Grouin located in Cancale to Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, and the bay of Mont Saint Michel on its eastern side by the pointe du Grouin at Roz-sur-Couesnon. The main towns in department 35 of Ille et Vilaine are Rennes ,Saint-Malo, Fougères, Vitré, Dinard ,Redon , and Bain-de-Bretagne
The department 35 Ille et Vilaine tourist office : https://www.ille-et-vilaine-tourism.com/
The Bretagne region tourist office on Ille et Vilaine: https://www.brittanytourism.com/destinations/departments/ille-et-vilaine/
Finally, I will end the brief tour with department 29 of Finisttére. But wait ,Finistére you say in French (end of the land) but in Breton you say Penn-ar-Bed. It was created by the union of the old Léon in the north, two thirds of the Cornouaille with Quimper as its capital in the south, and on the west Trégor and a portion of the Vannes area on the southeast. The main towns in department 29 Finistére are Quimper. Brest. Morlaix. Quimperlé, Concarneau. Douarnenez. And Carhaix-Plouguer.
The Finistére dept 29 tourist office on its heritage: https://www.toutcommenceenfinistere.com/masterpage/culture
The Bretagne region tourist office on Finistére : https://www.brittanytourism.com/destinations/departments/finistere/
Each major city has its own public transports for local needs, however, BreizhGo will give you these too, This of course is a general overview of the major public transports available,there is much is more, If you ever by here and need to know how to get around, let me know. Again, hope you enjoy this post on getting to know my Brittany, or Bretagne, or Breizh …..!!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 